Got to thank Whip for his post about Ed Pitchkites and his book. I am sorry to say I hadn't heard of this book but from the reaction it sounds like a "got to get" book.
Was wondering what other books are out there that are "must haves" for traditional archers???
Anything by the Wensel Brothers, anything by Fred Asbell, anything by Don Thomas, and anything by Glenn St.Charles. Plus a bunch of others.
Howard Hill huntin the hard way .
The Witchery of Archery
I highly recommend "The Old Bowhunter" by Chet Stevenson. One of my favorite reads.
1000 Campfires by Jay Massey, Bows of the Little Delta by Glenn St.Charles, Longbows of the Far North by Don Thomas, Trailing A Bear by Bob Munger to name a few.
What about Ishi?
Some great suggestions there already. I'd add Roger Rothaar's Whitetail Magic and Pursuit of Trophy Whitetails. Fred Anderson's The Traditional Way. Mark Seidschlag's Autumn Leaves and Searching For The Wild. Billy Ellis's Hunter To The Dawn. Any of Dave Petersons books, especially Man Made Of Elk.
That should get you through the rest of December. ;)
I alway enjoy reading FRED BEAR FIELD NOTES and any of G F Asbell books...
Guide to Better Archery, Thomas Forbes; Archery, From Golds to Big Game, Keith Schuyler;
Modern Bowhunting, Hiram Grogan; Bucks and Bows, Walter Perry. Yes, they are all old books, and are great reads.
If there is one book that brought me to traditional archery, it is "Hunting with the Bow and Arrow" by Saxton Pope.
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/8084
ANY "How-To" Book!!
Any of the Massey books especially "1000 Campfires". IMO Saxton Pope's "Hunting with the Bow and Arrow" should be in every library along with "Witchery of Archery". Glenn St. Charles' "Bows on the Little Delta" is full of great hunting stories.
Same as faustus. "Hunting with the Bow and Arrow". After reading this, I bought my first longbow. Things have never been the same since.
Long bows in the far north by Don Thomas...
Thanks for the suggestions guys.....some I have and some I will have to get it sounds like!
Chet Stevenson, Fred Asbell, Glen St.Charles,and Don Thomas is no particular order. Their all great.
Yep, I really like Fred Bear's feild notes.
Check out all the books in 3 Rivers catalog. Some of the titles are even available through your public library.
"The Archers Bible" by Fred Bear, either the 1968 version, or the 2nd edition. Great book, no longer in print, but often for sale on E-bay.
I'll give you the authors..
St. Charles
Dr. Pope
Jim Hamm
Maurice Thompson
Gene Wensel
Mike Mitten
Roger Rothaar
Many, many more...
The concepts in Blood Ties by Ted Karesote(sp) and Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold make them perfect for traditional hunters.
"Hunting the Osage Bow" by Dean Torges. Even if you never intend to build your own bow, Dean is an excellent wordsmith as well as a master bowyer.
One With The Wilderness by Mike Mitten is the best book I've ever read. Gene Wensels books are great to. I cant wait to read Barry's, I bet that one will be a great read also.
The titles listed in the previous posts are all great. One book I would also highly recommend would be Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac. The book although not totally bowhunting, is still a must read book. A couple others that I pick up and read occasionally are Maurice Thompson's Toxophilus in Arcadia and from 3Rivers Nostalgic Lore of the Bow by the McKellar Boys.
Timeless Bowhunting by Roy S. Marlow. Great book not strictly traditional but a great read!
Finding Wounded Deer by John Trout Jr. It isn't Trad specific but everyone should have a copy of this.
Also the studies done by Dr Ashby.
Fred's "Field Notes".
John Trout's "Finding Wounded Deer"
John Weiss' "Butchering Deer"
The Traditional Bowhunters Handbook by T.J. Conrads, lots of good info in there!!
"My Neck of The Woods" by Bryce Lambley is a book I read this fall. Really good book.
Howard Hill's "Hunting the Hard Way"
Ive read everybook suggested here.
Don Thomas books are, hands down ,IMO are the best trad. hunting books ever written.
They are finest expression of the soul and spirit of trad. hunting. They stand on their own as pure literature--- a quality of expression and candor, that can be appreciated by people weather they are initally interested in the subject matter or not. If you could only read one out of the 100's of trad. archery books,( there are alot of great ones out there) you would serve yourself well to read one of his--Like "Long bow in the North."
This will sound odd but stick with me: "Last of the Breed" by Louis L'Amour. If you're familiar with L'Amour, you this is not a western. It's about a Sioux Indian who happens to have excelled as a pilot in the Air Force in the 1980s. He is captured in Soviet Russia and escapes a prison camp in Siberia. He uses his woodscraft skills learned as a child and young man to survive and thrive in a very hostile environment. Check it out. It's not about traditional archery, but traditional (primative) archery certainly plays a major role in the book.
And you might think about a marriage counseling book cause your gonna be hooked and the first year you will neglect the wife. I think we all have...LOL
"To All Things a Season" by Don Thomas is another that is a good one that I haven't seen listed yet.
One of the first "traditonal" books I read was Don Thomas's "Longbows In The Far North" and I must say it is my favorite.
The style is what I prefer in my reading. At this stage I am past books with "hot tips" on "where to find big bucks" and enjoy his writings very much. Somewhat hard to find though.
Lots of good suggestions here. I am going to have a long list for Santa when I go see him at the mall.
Both of Roger Rothhaar`s books are great reads. He is a very nice person. I talk to him a few years ago on the phone. He took time to answer all of my questions. Jay Massey`s books Bowhunting Alk. Wild Rivers and A thousand Campfires are great reads too.